Which zoos have the best/most diverse hornbill collections?

The Cassowary

The Cassowary

Well-Known Member
Hornbills are one of my favorite groups of birds, thanks to their striking appearance and fascinating behaviors. I am interested in learning about zoos that keep a large diversity of these animals, zoos with less commonly kept species, and zoos with otherwise interesting or notable hornbill exhibits.

Inspired by the thread by @Onychorhynchus coronatus on zoos with the best pig/peccary collections.
 
Not sure if you've seen this yet @The Cassowary but the latest issue of "Zooquaria" magazine from EAZA has a feature on hornbills in zoos.

It is called "Hornbill heroes" about the RCP (Regional collection plan) for hornbills and the new EEP's for hornbill species.

You might find it interesting so I'll leave the link where you can download the latest issue of the magazine below :

ZOOQUARIA » EAZA
 
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Walsrode has 13 different hornbill species, Vogelpark Avifauna has 11, le Parc des oiseaux in France has 10, Zlin-Lesna has 9.

The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Israel is worth a mention although they only have 7, they have the only Rufous-necked hornbill I know of in captivity outside of its range.

In the US I believe San Diego used to have a great collection but I'm not sure.
According to Chlidonias's species list, Jurong in Singapore has something between 18 and 20 different hornbill species/subspecies, more or less, I lost count as the species are sometimes exhibited twice or more in different exhibits.
 
Rayane said:
Walsrode has 13 different hornbill species, Vogelpark Avifauna has 11, le Parc des oiseaux in France has 10, Zlin-Lesna has 9.

The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Israel is worth a mention although they only have 7, they have the only Rufous-necked hornbill I know of in captivity outside of its range.

In the US I believe San Diego used to have a great collection but I'm not sure.
According to Chlidonias's species list, Jurong in Singapore has something between 18 and 20 different hornbill species/subspecies, more or less, I lost count as the species are sometimes exhibited twice or more in different exhibits.
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Jurong currently has 18 species of hornbills.
 
lintworm said:
The best hornbill "enclosure" would be the Bush in Burgers' Zoo, Netherlands. 3 Wrinkled Hornbills are free-ranging in the 1.1 hectare rainforest hall, so giving them more space than any other zoo. Seeing them glide through the canopy is fantastic.
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No breeding takes place in the Bush for the smaller species ? Does Burgers have an off-show pair for every species there?
 
Most smaller species breed in the Bush. Burgers’ has kept hornbill in the bush before and they only predated eggs and young birds when they were nesting themselves. That’s why they now keep 3.0 (surplus animals in the EEP/ESB).
 
I read in the San Diego Zoo’s Animals and Plants database indicates they have nearly 30 species of hornbill, don’t know how accurate that figure may be. It does feel like every section of Lost Forest has hornbills of all sizes and the Safari park also has a few smaller aviaries maintaining smaller size hornbills IIRC.
 
Julio C Castro said:
I read in the San Diego Zoo’s Animals and Plants database indicates they have nearly 30 species of hornbill, don’t know how accurate that figure may be. It does feel like every section of Lost Forest has hornbills of all sizes and the Safari park also has a few smaller aviaries maintaining smaller size hornbills IIRC.
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On this species list, only 8 species of hornbills are listed. Maybe they've had much more in the past, but I think nowaways, Jurong is the biggest holder.
 
The Sacramento Zoo once held 5 species of hornbill (Abyssinian ground, great Indian, knobbed, northern red-billed, and rhinoceros), which is impressive for a collection sitting of a mere 14 acres. However in the last couple years they sent away the three large flying species to other AZA zoos to make room for okapis. The great Indians went to the Bronx Zoo and the rhinoceroses went to the Gladys Porter Zoo. I'm unsure where the knobbeds went.
 
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Julio C Castro said:
I read in the San Diego Zoo’s Animals and Plants database indicates they have nearly 30 species of hornbill, don’t know how accurate that figure may be. It does feel like every section of Lost Forest has hornbills of all sizes and the Safari park also has a few smaller aviaries maintaining smaller size hornbills IIRC.
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Rayane said:
On this species list, only 8 species of hornbills are listed. Maybe they've had much more in the past, but I think nowaways, Jurong is the biggest holder.
Click to expand...

At one point San Diego was a major holder of hornbills, I believe they have gone out of many species though. That said they do maintain quite a few species still, including some rarities for North America.
 
Just to bump this thread, I doubt any zoo can top Singapore's Bird Paradise when it comes to hornbills (or pretty much anything bird related!). Species lists courtesy of @FoxBat and there are 24 hornbill species at the zoo. I visited this facility in 2024 and my mind was blown. :)

There are 18 hornbill species just in the Winged Sanctuary part of the zoo:

African Grey Hornbill
Black-casqued Hornbill
Black Hornbill
Great Hornbill
Knobbed Hornbill
Luzon Hornbill
Northern Ground Hornbill
Oriental Pied Hornbill
Piping Hornbill
Rhinoceros Hornbill
Rufous Hornbill
Silvery-cheeked Hornbill
Southern Ground Hornbill
Sulawesi Hornbill
Trumpeter Hornbill
White-crowned Hornbill
Wreathed Hornbill
Wrinkled Hornbill

full


The massive 4-acre Heart of Africa aviary has a further 5 different species:

Crowned Hornbill
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
Piping Hornbill - repeated species
Von der Decken's Hornbill
West African Pied Hornbill
Western Long-tailed Hornbill

full


The 2-acre Wings of Asia aviary has another new species:

Luzon Hornbill - repeated species
Papuan Hornbill

full


The Lory Loft aviary has 1 species:

Luzon Hornbill - repeated species

full
 
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